Puppet MastersS


Propaganda

WaPo fake news: Kremlin denies reports of Blackwater founder helping establish Putin-Trump ties


RT
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 15:36 UTC
Erik Prince
© Larry Downing / ReutersErik Prince
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed a Washington Post report claiming that the Blackwater founder held a secret meeting to establish a backchannel for communications between Moscow and Donald Trump's administration.

"This is complete nonsense," Peskov said on Tuesday after posed with a question by a reporter.

Earlier Monday, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed US, European and Arab officials, that the UAE in January arranged secret talks between Erik Prince, the founder of notorious private US military firm Blackwater, and "a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin."
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Arrow Down

WMDs All Over Again: Tillerson accuses Syrian government of 'barbarism' for chemical weapons attack in Idlib


RT
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:34 UTC
Chemical weapons Syria
© Ammar Abdullah / Reuters Idlib, Syria, April 4, 2017

Condemning the chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused the Syrian government of "barbarism" and said Russia and Iran also bear moral responsibility for the deaths.

In a statement of Tuesday afternoon, Tillerson pointed the finger at Damascus, saying that "it is clear that this is how Bashar Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism."

"Anyone who uses chemical weapons to attack his own people shows a fundamental disregard for human decency and must be held accountable," Tillerson said.

Comment: Jumping to conclusions: The 'official version' of Idlib gas attack stinks to high heaven
With the Syrian Army and its allies in a comfortable position in Syria, making advances across the country, and recovering lost points in rural Hama, why would they now resort to using chemical weapons? It is a very simple question with no clear answer. It defies any logic that on the eve of a Syria conference in Brussels and a week before peace negotiations are to resume, that the Syrian government would blatantly use chemical weapons. All evidence suggests this is another false chemical attack allegation made against the government as seen in the Khan-al-Assal 2013 attack where the terrorist groups hoped that former President Obama's "red-line" would be crossed leading to US-intervention in Syria against the government.


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Laptop

UK cybersecurity experts say Chinese gangs targeted Britain in 'large-scale espionage operation'


RT
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 15:01 UTC
Computer laptop leaks hackers hacking database
© Silas Stein / DPA / Global Look Press
UK firms are targets of "serious" cyberattacks from China that seek to steal trade secrets and customers' personal information, a new report has said.

A China-based cyber gang dubbed APT10 uses custom malware and 'spear phishing' techniques to target IT service companies, planning to use them as a proxy for future attacks, security firms have said.

The report, authored by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and cyber units at defense group BAE systems and accountancy firm PwC, has described the attack as "one of the largest ever sustained global espionage campaigns."

The gang is said to have targeted firms that run IT functions on behalf of large British companies. The group has been active since 2014 but reportedly ramped up its attacks in late 2016.
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Info

Mending fences: Iraqi-Saudi relations gravitate towards 'honeymoon'


Sputnik
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:54 UTC
King Salman and Fuad Masum
© AFP 2017/ FAYEZ NURELDINE
Seeking to forge closer ties with their neighbors, the Iraqi government started making moves to improve ties with Saudi Arabia, heralding the possible beginning of a "honeymoon" in relations between Riyadh and Baghdad.

Earlier Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that he hopes to restore strong relations with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Persian Gulf states.

"Saudi Arabia believes that Iraq is advancing Iranian policy, while Iraq believes that Saudi Arabia supports terrorism; both of these assumptions are wrong," he said.
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Propaganda

CNN losing it on Susan Rice blockbuster, tells viewers to ignore story


Grabien News
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:20 UTC
susan rice
'We will not aid and abet the people trying to misinform you'

Since news broke Monday that the Obama Administration's National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, directed the "unmasking" of NSA intercepts of Trump associates, CNN has raced to shoot down the blockbuster report.

CNN Tonight's Don Lemon went so far as to announce he would ignore the news at all costs.

While interviewing a Democratic congressman, CNN's Chris Cuomo claimed it was "demonstrably untrue" Rice sought surveillance of the Trump team, even as that's exactly what yesterday's reports prove. He further announced that the story is a "fake scandal."

"There is no evidence of any wrongdoing," Cuomo concluded. "In fact if anything, the NSA asking for identities was foreign players. The White House blasting the press for not reporting on another fake scandal being peddled by right-wing media."

Over the last 24 hours, the network has also repeatedly called on its chief national security correspondent — who was also a political appointee in the Obama White House — Jim Sciutto, to dismiss the reports as a non-story; Sciutto has even excused Rice claiming ignorance of the unmasking scandal two weeks ago, arguing Rice "wasn't aware" what unmasking Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) was referring to.

Comment: Could this story be the beginning of pulling the plug on the swamp? It's crucial that Trump follow up with investigations and legal action.

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Whistle

Rice ordered spy agencies to produce detailed spreadsheets involving Trump, national security compromised by partisan politics

Richard Pollock
The Daily Caller
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 10:08 UTC
Susan Rice
© VetrOrder fulfilled.
Update: In response to a question Tuesday from NBC News reporter Andrea Mitchell, former Obama White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice denied that she "prepared" spreadsheets of surveilled telephone calls involving Donald Trump and his aides. The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group, however, reported that Rice "ordered" the spreadsheets to be produced.

In addition, former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova, one of TheDCNF's sources, said Tuesday in response to Rice that her denial "would come as quite a surprise to the government officials who have reviewed dozens of those spreadsheets."

Former President Barack Obama's national security adviser Susan Rice ordered U.S. spy agencies to produce "detailed spreadsheets" of legal phone calls involving Donald Trump and his aides when he was running for president, according to former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova.

"What was produced by the intelligence community at the request of Ms. Rice were detailed spreadsheets of intercepted phone calls with unmasked Trump associates in perfectly legal conversations with individuals," diGenova told The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group Monday. "The overheard conversations involved no illegal activity by anybody of the Trump associates, or anyone they were speaking with," diGenova said. "In short, the only apparent illegal activity was the unmasking of the people in the calls."

Other official sources with direct knowledge and who requested anonymity confirmed to TheDCNF diGenova's description of surveillance reports Rice ordered one year before the 2016 presidential election.

Comment: "...leaking of signal intelligence...breach of public trust...potential constitutional crisis...political spy program..." For all we know, this is just the diabolical tip of the iceberg.

See also:

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Black Magic

German govt dismisses 'Islam law' to monitor mosques proposed by Merkel's party


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:14 UTC
muslims at prayer
© Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
The German government has slammed a proposal put forward by Chancellor Merkel's CDU party, which would see a Muslim registry introduced and the country's mosques monitored, as nothing but a "populist crackpot idea" incompatible with freedom of religion.

Ahead of September's looming general election, Julia Kloeckner, the deputy head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), and Jens Spahn, a member of the party's executive committee, floated the idea of passing the so-called 'Islam law.'

However, Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, dismissed the idea, telling reporters on Monday that "such a law is not now an issue for government business." He also said Merkel's cabinet considers freedom of religion "one of the central freedoms safeguarded by our constitution."
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Bad Guys

Jumping to conclusions: The 'official version' of Idlib gas attack stinks to high heaven

Paul Antonopoulos
AMN
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 11:49 UTC
Idlib gas attack
At least 58 people were killed in a horrific gas attack in the Idlib Governorate this morning. However, even before investigations could be conducted and for evidence to emerge, Federica Mogherini, the Italian politician High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, condemned the Syrian government stating that the "Assad regime bears responsibility for 'awful' Syria 'chemical' attack."

The immediate accusation from a high ranking EU official serves a dangerous precedent where public outcry can be made even before the truth surrounding the tragedy can emerge

Israeli President, Benjamin Netanyahu, joined in on the condemnation, as did Amnesty International.
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Bad Guys

US Special Forces to increase number of ground missions in Yemen


Sputnik
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 11:49 UTC
Pentagon
© Flickr/ Rudi Riet
The United States reportedly has increased the number of ground missions in Yemen.

The United States has increased the number of ground missions in Yemen amid growing concerns about activities by the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group, US media reported on Tuesday.

The US Special Operations force has been conducting covert ground operations to collect intelligence on AQAP, CNN reported citing two officials with direct knowledge of the operations.
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Bad Guys

Hypocrites: West rejected Putin's offer to create anti-terror coalition, now blame him for all terrorism

Kristina Kharlova
Fort Russ
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 11:49 UTC
Putin UN speech 800px
© Mike Segar / ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015.
As it turns out, just seconds after the blast in St. Petersburg's subway many in the West have already solved the terrorist attack. Besides "revenge on Syria" motive hypothesis, Western consensus narrowed in on the mastermind of the attack - Russian president Vladimir Putin. After all, just before an election year, a world cup, after an operation meticulously annihilating ISIS in Syria, while trying to attract investment to Russia under sanctions, many in the West find that a logical step for Putin would be to blow up a subway in his hometown, during his meeting there with president of Belarus. On top of it Washington Post published a photo of recent protests in Russia with their story about the terrorist attack, as the public is told these events are related.

Who stands to benefit from the timing of these events? Clearly not Putin, but his opponents.

In light of these speculations it is good to be reminded about Putin's offer to create an anti-terror coalition at the 70th session of UN General Assembly on September 28, 2015, which has been rejected by the West.
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